EXPLORING THE WONDER BEHIND OLD TV SHOWS Who gets a board game named after them? This photo of the Golden Girls Clue Edition was taken Sunday Oct. 10 at the Yankee Candle Village in Deerfield, Matheir toy room.
Photo by Dr. Cybart-Persenaire, Adviser

EXPLORING THE WONDER BEHIND OLD TV SHOWS

By Shana Pinto/Staff Writer

Who doesn't love to watch a good TV show?

I know I do, and I'd like to share some of my favorite old TV shows from the late 80s and early 90s.

First off we all know and love Friends. It's a comical show with romance and based on the name, friendship. Friends first aired in late 1994 until mid 2004, and during the show we get to see these six friends handle conflict, relationships, careers and life in general. I'm pretty sure everyone knows about Friends but there is another show almost similar to Friends that I would highly recommend watching, The Golden Girls.

This sitcom ran from late 1985 to mid 1992, just two years before Friends. Like Friends, The Golden Girls goes through the life of four women who are roommates: Dorothy Zbornak a divorced substitute teacher who is full of sarcasm; Sophia Petrillo, Dorothy’s mother and a very witty Sicilian woman who also has a high level of sarcasm; Blanche Deveroux, a woman who is full of life and is very social and has many relationships; and finally, Rose Nylund, a very bubbly woman who is a bit childish like and enjoys telling stories about her hometown of Saint Olaf, Minnesota.

All four women live in Miami, Florida but Dorothy and Sophia are originally from Brooklyn, New York and before that Sophia was born and raised in Sicily. All four of these women who are very different in some ways go through their “Golden Years” giving each other advice on relationships and how to handle conflict, which they deal with quite a bit.

They all get along and are funny because of their differences, for the most part. In my opinion it's because of the stories they tell and because they have different backgrounds so it’s just funny to hear about experiences; mainly Sophia and Rose tell stories. When Sophia is about to tell one, she says “Picture it, (Sicily, New York, etc. and the year) when Rose tells a story she goes “Back in St. Olaf” which gets everyone on edge because her stories sometimes make no sense!

I love watching The Golden Girls with my mom; it's a great show to watch with family or friends because it's never a dull moment in the show and you laugh a lot. Another reason why I love the show is because they touch on many issues such as racism, sexual and age descrimination and abusive relationships, and how these women deal and resolve these situations in a way it's like the audience learns too.

Besides sitcoms, I also adore mystery/ crime solving suspense which is why like many people, I love Law and Order Special Victims Unit (SVU). I mainly prefer this show because I don't necessarily like watching a horrible crime even though it's fictional. I enjoy watching the crime being solved, the clues/motive and evidence that leads to the criminal, which is what Law and Order shows.

Law and Order (SVU) first aired in late 1999 and continues to this day. However, there is another show somewhat similar to Law and Order, and if you love mystery and problem solving you will love this show as well: Monk.

Monk ran from mid 2002 - late 2009 and is about a man in his mid to late 40s who was a former police officer, now a private investigator for the San Francisco Police Department. While he helps solve cases with his incredible skills of noticing the smallest details, he is dealing with something more severe and personal: trying to find the man responsible for the death of his wife Trudy.

After her death Mr. Monk was really lost and needed assistance, so he did get an assistance named Shrona, then a new one a few years later named Natalie. Both women helped Monk when it came to work, drove him around and really anything that he asked them to do, which is not a lot.

Well whenever there is a crime the SFPD is called and so is Monk, and usually they think they got the person responsible but unlike other investigators, Monk sees EVERYTHING and sometimes he finds evidence that proves someone else is guilty. Of course it's funny as well, just watching Monk do his thing to figure things out and overreact about things makes me laugh, and I bet it will make you laugh too.

poetry

A star amongst the sea

By Sydney Mhando/ Staff Writer

I am sinking.

This anchor of debt is weighing me down.

All the way to the ocean floor,

where my buried bones are,

where my secrets lie.

Do I suffer in silence?

Can I keep all this pain?

Even if I spoke, what would I gain?

The pain of reminiscing over flashbacks,

flash backs that won’t even go away.

My eyes are looking to the surface,

but the weight of this anchor is sinking me farther down.

Time is running out and I’m going to drown.

Let me close my eyes and rest,

instead of struggling, let me sleep.

Eternal slumber seems like peace.

Floating gracefully is an ease.

Maybe the anchor is convincing me to take responsibiliy,

To come to terms with who I am to be.

Making me start over again

down at the ocean sea.

Where I can turn my pain into dreams

What was meant for pain can turn into purpose

I can blossom and float to the surface.

Where I thought my buried bones are

is the rebirth of my destiny that is a star.

To Shine bright,

because nothing and nobody can dim my light

CONCEAL

By Israel Alvarado/Staff Writer

You conceal yourself with smiles and lies.

You hide a secret that tears you apart inside.

A secret with intention leaves your cover in plain sight.

Obvious yet so oblivious.

You hide your deepest regret at the depths of your soul.

It shivers your spine as you walk towards the blinding light of truth.

Now everyone knows your deepest secret and your secret and your deepest regrets are suppressed with grief and sorrow.

And your true self is no longer concealed

Your deepest regret is

Nothing.

Short stories

WHATEVER YOU SAY

By Shanell Haye/ Staff Writer

I’m Alex Brown, a freshman in high school. I always thought ghost stories were fake. My sister, on the other hand, was a freak. She was the same age as me and could go on and on for hours about strange urban legends. My sister has been obsessed with ghost stories since the end of 8th grade. But that’s not all, she’s the head of the “occult club”, which isn’t even an official club! She just gets together with 4 other people and talks about strange experiences they had. I could go into one of their meetings and tell them that my pet dog got possessed and they’d believe me. I don’t even have a pet dog.

Sometimes she brings home weird objects like spoons, forks, and combs wrapped in tissues; she says they’re cursed objects. She gets upset when I tell her she got scammed. It’s almost like I’m the older sibling by 7 years. Last week I decided to play a prank on her and hide one of her cursed objects in my room. It was a hair comb with lots of red gems on it. When she found out, she took it back and has been insisting that the, “lady in red” is after me. I expected her to be angry, but if she is going to try and prank me, it should at least be with something good.. right?

“Why did you leave the closet door open?” She slammed it shut. “Did you forget about the lady in red?!”

I sighed and rolled my eyes, “It’s the afternoon. You said she only comes out at night.”

She folded her arms, “On most occasions, not always. Mom and Dad aren’t home and I have a photography club meeting soon so you should be careful.”

“Whatever you say, Sophia.” I laughed.

I brought my attention back to the comic I was reading. It was a strange comic about five people who wake up in a completely empty city. I would recommend it to Sophia but she’d start going on a rant about cursed dimensions. Sophia eventually stopped nagging me and left my room. After a while, my eyelids became heavy and I fell asleep. After a few hours, I opened my eyes to a dark room. I assumed it was the middle of the night because of how dark and quiet it was.

My book was no longer in my hand, and I found myself in a starfish position on the bed. It was a bit too quiet. I didn’t hear my dad watching TV or Sophia on the phone with her friends. They weren’t asleep because the lights were still on in the hallway. I glanced at the digital clock on my night table to see. However, I don’t remember plugging it out. I started to feel worried, so I got up to go check on my family. I reached for the doorknob. I immediately felt something cold grab my ankle and yank. I hit the floor harshly, but I was too scared to make any noise. I looked up and I saw a pair of red, glowing eyes. I always thought ghost stories were fake, until now.

THE ANSWER

By AJ Barberi/ Staff Writer

Remember I ended last year with a murder mystery? Did you solve it? I want to give a shout out to AJ Rybczyk for solving it.

If you don’t remember it from last year, I’ll give you one more chance.

Eight people are having a dinner party, and all will be referred to by number. Everybody was invited by Number 1. Number 1 wanted to invite over 7 friends to become friends with each other to make one big friend group.

Dinner is served and conversation is made. It is revealed that:

Number 2 was the doctor of Number 6’s wife
Number 3 knows Number 7 through talking with Number 1, but they’ve never met until tonight
Number 8 has met the cook
Number 6 was a cop
Number 4 knew the cook from years ago
Number 5 heard about Number 2 in the news
The wife of Number 6 is dead
Number 1 is a restaurant owner
Number 7 is Number 4’s dog walker
Number 8 was a butler for one of the seven other people

But then things took a turn. In the style of the movie and game Clue, Number 1 puts 6 items on the table:

A candlestick
A revolver
A wrench
A lead pipe
A length of rope
A knife

The lights go out. A gunshot and a metal CLUNK are heard. The lights turn back on. Number 2 was shot and Number 4 was hit by the lead pipe. Both were dead.

Here’s your part, dear reader. Who shot Number 2 and who hit Number 4?

3...2...1…

Number 2 was killed by Number 6 because his wife was a victim of malpractice by Number 2, and as a cop, he knew that Number 2 could get with murder due to a corrupt system. Number 6 wanted revenge, so he killed Number 2.

Number 4 was killed by Number 8. Number 8, who butled for Number 4, talked to the cook who was told by Number 7 of how awful Number 4 is. Number 1 set up this entire night because Number 1 owned a restaurant that the cook used to work at and the cook told Number 1 about the abuse of Numbers 7 and 8 at the hands of Number 4 and decided to invite Numbers 7 and 8 to finally get revenge. Number 8 carried out the task. If you said Number 7 carried out the task, I’ll give it to you.

How’d you do? Did you solve it? If so, congratulations! If not, better luck next time!

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